Machine foe heading spokes



(No Model.)

T. HILL. MACHINE FOR HEADING SPOKBS.

No. 470,566. Patented Mar. 8, I1892.v

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS HILL, OF QUINCY, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE ELECTRIC IVHEEL COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR HEADING SPOKES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 470,566, dated March 8, 1892.

Application filed November 22, 1890. Serial No. 372,344. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern: semicircular grooves, as shown invFig. V, to Beit known thatLTHOMAs II1LL,of Quincy, receive the spokes 14 of the wheel or pulley. in the county of Adams and State of Illinois, The upper piece 13 should be insulated from have invented a certain new and useful Iinits plate G. To the lower plate 12 is connect- 5 provement in Electric Machines for Making' ed one of the wires l5 of an electric circuit. 55

Metal Vheels, the., of which the following is In the head 2 there is journaled a shaft IG, a full, clear, and exact description, reference provided with an operating-lever 17.

being had to the accompanying drawings, 1S represents a sliding block fitting in an forming part of this specieatiou. opening in the head 2, and against the rear 1o My invention relates to an improved eleeend of which a cam 19 on the shaft 1G bears. 6o tric machine for securing the spokes to the There should be an insulated contact between rims of wheels or pulleys; and my invention the cam and the sliding block, as shown at consists in features of novelty hereinafter 20, Fig. I, and the block should be insulated fully described, and pointed out in the claims. from the head 2.

15 Figure I is aside elevation of niyimproved 21 represents the other wire of the circuit, 65

machine. Fig. II is a rear end View or elevawhich is connected to the plate 1S. tion. Fig. III is a horizontal section taken 22 represents cams on the shaftlGand which on line III III, Fig. I. Fig. IVis an enlarged operate upon theouter ends of levers 23, pivdetail view of the inner end of one of the oted at 2i to 'a's'liding block 40, iittingin the 2o rim-moving levers, part in section. Fig. Vis opening in the head2 infront of the block 18. 7o an enlarged vertical section of the spoke con- The levers 23 have upwardly-extending ends tact-plates, taken on line V V, Fig. I. Figs. 25, which are adapted to come in contact with VI and VII are diagrams illustrating the the rim 26 of the wheel when the outer ends manner of forming the heads or shoulders on of the levers 23 are depressed by the cams 22.

25 the spokes. Fig. VIII is a vertical section The ends 25 of the levers should have an in- 75 through the sliding block, dac. sulated bearing with the rim 26.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a 4l represents a rod which passes through base or bed plate to which the other parts are the block 1S and is made fast at its inner end secured or upon which the other parts are inthe block e0. (See Fig. VIII.) The blocks 3o formed. are recessed at 4t2 to receiveaspring 43, which 8o 2 represents a head having an upwardlysurrounds the rod 41 to keep the blocks 1S extending arm 3, provided with a threaded and 40 apart when in their normal positions. socket through which passes a threaded rod or 44; is a spring on the rod outside of the block shaft 4, made hollow at its lower end to re- 1S. The inner end of this springbears against 35 ceive the stem 5 of an upper contactplate 6. a plate or cross-strip 45, secured to the head 85 7 represents a lever fitting in the slotted 2 so as not to be movable. The outer end of upper end of the rod or shaft 4: and pivoted the spring 44 bears against a washer 4G, prefthereto at S. The lever is provided with a erably recessed, as shown, beyond which is a cam-head 9, which bears upon the upper end nut e7 on the rod.

4o of the stem 5, as shown clearly by dotted The operation of my machine is as follows: 9o lines, Fig. I. The stein 5 is capable of verti- The outer ends of the spokes are rst inserted cal movement within the hollow shaft 1i, thus within the sockets or perforations of the rim permitting the contact-plate 6 to be raised or 26, either before or after they are secured to lowered, and the plate is guided in this inove the hub of the wheel, preferably after. The

A5 ment by a slide 10, secured thereto and fitwheel is then turned to bring the spokes over 9 5 ting between lugs or ears 11 on the arm 3, the lower contact-plate 12. The upper conwith which it has a dovetail connection. Betact-plate 6 is then lowered first bya forward neath the contact-plate G is a plate 12. (See and downward movement of the lever 7 in the Figs. I and V.) These plates are preferably direction of the arrow, Fig. I, which causes 5o provided with removable pieces 13, having ihe cam 9 to bear against the upper end of the roo stem 5 of the plate and move the plate downwardly, and, secondly, by turning the lever in a horizontal direction, which revolves the threaded shaft 4 within the threaded socket of the arm 3 so as to make a close contact between the plate 6 and the spoke 14. The next step is to move the lever 17 in the direction of the arrow, the irst part of the movement of which causes the cams 22 to depress the outer ends of the levers 23 to automatically set the rim 26 radially away from the center of the wheel, and the continued movement of the lever 17 brings the cam 19 against the sliding block 18 and forces the inner end of the sliding block against the outer end ofthe spoke, thus establishing the electric circuit between the wires. The continued movement of the lever holds the rim in its outer position (for, as will be seen, the cams 22 have lower ends formed in the arc of circles drawn through the center of the shaft) and also causes the Aforming-block 18 to be pressed in farther to produce the head 30 on theouter end of the spoke, as shown in Fig. VI, the current of electricity, having heated the spoke, permitting this head to be formed. Just as the head is formed the inner end of the block 18, compressing the spring 43, comes against the outer end of the block 40, and the two blocks and the levers 23 will then move forward together until the washer 46 comes against the piece 45, causing a shoulder 3l to be formed on the spoke inside of the rim, as shown in Fig. VII, and the rim having been set outward while the head was being formed and then permitted to move inward as the inner shoulder is formed the result is that when a wheel is completed the rim is concentric with the hub and a perfect wheel is produced. When the cam 19 leaves the head 18, the spring 44 pulls the heads 18 and 40 back to their normal position, the spring 43 separating the blocks. This completes the attach- `ment of the spoke to the rim and the next operation is to unscrew the sleeve or shaft 4 and raise the lever 7, permitting the plate 6 to be raised by a spring 6*, connecting it to the arm-3, andthe wheel is then turned to bring the next spoke into position to be attached to the rim, and thus the operation goes on continuously until all of the spokes have been united to the rim.

It. will be seen that by adjusting the nut 47 the amount of metal consumed in making the head on the spoke will be regulated.

With 4a machine thus arranged for securing the spokes to the rim of a wheel by electric heating, permitting the heads and shoulders to be formed, a wheel can be quickly produced with a secure joint between the spokes and the rim.

I do not want to be limited to any particular location of the insulators of the dierent parts, nor do I Want to be limited to any particular manner of applying the wires 15 and 21 to their respective parts, or to any other such mere matters of detail, which do not change or affect the operation of my machine.

Iclaim as my invention- 1. In an electric machine for securing the spokes to the rim of metal wheels, dac., the combination of the lower contact-plate, an upper contact-plate, and meansfor moving the upper plate, consisting of a hollow threaded shaft supported in a threaded bearing and receiving 4a stem on the upper end of the plate and a llever pivoted to said shaft and having acam bearing on the upper end of said stem, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an electric machine for securing the` spokes to the rim of a metal wheel, in combination with contact-plates, a sliding head, pivoted levers for setting the rim, and a shaft having a lever and cams for moving said head :and pivoted levers, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. 3. In an electric machine for securing the spokes to the rim of metal wheels, the combination of sliding heads, rod 41, springs 44 and 43, sliding blocks and levers pivoted to one of the sliding blocks, and means for moving the blocks and levers, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In an electric machine for securing the spokes to the rim of metal wheels, the combination of sliding heads 18 and 40, a cam for moving the heads, levers pivoted to one of the heads, cams for moving the levers, rod 41, springs 43 and 44, cross-piece 45, washer 46, and nut 47, substantially as andl for the purpose set forth.

THOMAS HILL.

In presence .of-

CHAS. G. CoMsTooK, ERNEST A. HENDERSON. 

